Cooler.



C. MELDAU.

COOLER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28,1913- 1,200;513. Patented Oct 10,1916.

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COOLER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28, ms.

Patented 0011.10, 1916.

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CHARLES MELDAU, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COOLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

Application fi led. July 28, 1913. Serial No. 781,519.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES MELDAU, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of the Bronx, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coolers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to coolers, particularly for beer and other beverages.

The object of my invention is to provide a cooler of simple construction and of great efficiency, the arrangement of parts being such that the ice employed for cooling will always occupy a position where its full effect will be available.

Other features of my invention will appear from the detailed description following hereinafter, and the novelty will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of a beer cooler embodying my invention, with parts in section; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partial top view; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail front elevation showing, on an enlarged scale, the manner of supporting two adjoining cooler sections; Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a slightly different construction, with parts in section; and Fig. 8 is a detail horizontal section showing a slightly different construction of the conveying pipes.

The improved cooler comprises a box 20 having a suitable lining 21 and preferably rectangular in cross section as shown in Fig. 2. The open top of the box may be closed in any usual or approved manner, as by a movable cover (not shown). The cooling pipes are preferably constructed in separate sections. In the embodiment of my invention illustrated by Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, each section comprises an inlet pipe 22 connected with the cask or other receptacle from which the beer or other beverage is drawn, and a series of parallel U-shaped pipe members 23 having their vertical end portions adjacent to the front and rear walls respectively of the box 20, and their central portions extending near the bottom of said box. Two heads 24:, 25 are placed adjacent to the front and the rear wall respectively of the box, these heads having sockets 26 for receiving the upper ends of the U-shaped pipemembers 23, and channels 27 for connecting the adjacent sockets 26 in pairs. While the planes of the U-shaped' members 23 extend fromv front to rear, the channels 27 extend laterally. The arrangement of the channels 27 differs slightly in the two heads 24:, 25, in order to secure the passage of the beverage fromv the pipe 22 successivelythrough all the pipe members 23, to finally reach the outlet channel 28 in the front head 24, which channel is connected by a suitable union 29 with the delivery pipe 30 leading to the customary draw-faucet 31. Thus, it will be understood (see particularly Figs. 1 and 3) that the first channel 27 of the rear head 25 (at the right in Fig. 1) connects the inlet pipe 22 with one end of the first U-shaped member 23; the other (front) end of said member is connected by the first channel 27 of the front head 24, with the front end ofQthe second U shaped' member 23; the rear end of said second member is connected by the second channel 27 of the rear head 25 with the rear end of the third member 23, and so on, until the front end of the last member 23' is connected with the outlet channel 28.

' In order that the interior of the U-shaped members 23 and of the inlet pipe 22, as well as the channels 27, may be cleaned readily, removable screw-plugs 32 may be provided in the heads 24, 25 at the bends or tops of the channels 27; a brush or cleaning wire may be inserted through these openings after removing the plugs. l/Vashe'rs 33 serve to insurea tight joint as the plugs are screwed in.

In order to hold the cooler sections in position within the box, I form the heads 2d and 25 at their ends with extensions 3st and 35 respectively, the extensions 34: being nearer thewall than. the extensions 35 (see Fig. 6). These extensions, which have hook-shaped ends (seeFigs. 1, 5 and 6) are adapted to fit into hooks or supports 36 secured to the interior of the box 20. The hooks 36 are open upwardly, so that any one of the cooler sections maybe lifted off and replaced without disturbing the other sections. From Figs. 5 and 6 it will be understood that each hook 36 receives the extension 34 at the left-hand end, ofone cooler section and the extension 35. at the righthand end of the adjacent cooler section. The extensions 34, 35 of difierent sections thus lie one in front of the other in the same hook 36, as shown in Fig. 6. The extensions 34, 35 of the same section lie in different planes, and likewise, the cooperating extensions 34, 35 of adjacent sections lie in difierent planes. For the purpose of further bracing the U-shaped members 23, I- may provide, in engagement with the vertical front and rear portions of said members, bracing bars 37 (Figs. 1 and 4), soldered or otherwise secured to all members 23 of the same section, and extending beyond said sections. These horizontal bracing bars are preferably located on the outside of the U- shaped members 23, that is to say, adjacent to the front wall and to the rear wall of the box 20. One end of each bar 37 is provided with a vertical pin 38, and the other end has an opening or socket 39 adapted to receive the pin 38 of the bar 37 on the adjoining section. Thus the pipe members 23 are well braced and the cooler sections are connected securely, yet each individual section may be detached readily from the others without disturbing them.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a construction in which the plugs 32 and washers 33 are omitted, and in which, besides, the head 24' having extensions 34, 35 of' the character described above to cooperate with hooks 36, carries two separate sets of conveying pipe members 23, that is to say, there are two inlet pipes 22 and two delivery pipes 30 connected with the same head, there being no communication between the two paths. This I have illustrated to make it clear that my invention is not restricted to constructions in which the two heads 24, 25 carry a single set of pipe members 23 as in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive.

The cross section of the pipes 23 may be circular as shown in Fig. 4, or oblong as in Fig. 8, for the purpose of securing a greater surface with the same cross sectional area, and thereby a more efficient cooling action. WVhen the pipes are of oblong cross section, their ends may be made of circular cross section so that they may be fitted into circular sockets 26 of the same construction as those shown in Fig. 4, or the ends of the pipe members 23 may also be of oblong cross section, in which case the sockets are given a corresponding oblong shape, as shown at 26 in Fig. 8. Of course, any other approved cross section may be employed for the pipes 23.

A very important advantage of my invention resides in the formation of an unobstructed upwardly open space between the U-shaped pipe members 23. It will be understood that the interior of the box 20 is filled with ice, to cool the beverage flowing through the pipe members 23 and the heads 24, 25. In coolers of this character, as constructed hitherto, the ice is liable to get caught on projections of the apparatus, and thus the ice may become separated from the water resulting from the melting of the ice, in which case the lower portion of the apparatus can become comparatively warm. This defect is avoided by my inven tion, in which the ice can sink freely between the U-shaped members 23, and will therefore always remain in eflicient cooling contact with the water resulting from the melting of the ice, and thus cool the lower parts of the apparatus as well as the upper parts thereof.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the nature of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with a box, of liquidcooler sections, extensions on the sections, and hooks secured upon the interior of the box, each hook which is at the adjacent ends of neighboring sections engaging extensions on two of said sections.

2. The combination, with a box, of liquid cooler sections, extensions on the sections, and hooks secured upon the interior of the box and adapted to engage the said extensions, said extensions at the adjacent ends of neighboring sections lying in different parallel planes.

3. The combination, with a box, of liquidcooler sections, extensions on the sections, and hooks secured upon the interior of the box and adapted to engage said extensions, said extensions at opposite ends of each section lying in different planes.

4. A cooler comprising a box, connected parallel U-shaped pipe members set within said box, and bracing bars connecting said pipe members and extending at right angles Itoo the planes of the several U-shaped memers.

5. A cooler comprising a box, cooler sections with communicating pipe members located within said box, and bracing bars secured to the individual sections, the bars of adjoining sections being adapted for detachable connection.

6. A cooler comprising a box, cooler sections with communicating pipe members set within said box, and bracing bars secured Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G." 

